United States military munitions or demolition charges such as Claymore Mines are typically detonated through primarily mechanical means. In such applications, Demolition Firing Devices, hereinafter DFD, such as the M1 pull-type, the M1 release-type and the M1A1 pressure-type, to name a few, are attached to a blasting cap which is in turn attached directly to the munition. When the DFD is tripped by a triggering event such as pulling on a trip wire or application of pressure due to the weight of a man or vehicle, a firing pin strikes a percussion primer which thereby emits a small but intense flame. This flame in turn initiates a blasting cap. Initiation or firing of the blasting cap causes the munition to detonate. The blasting cap used in these applications by the U.S. military is the M7 nonelectric blasting cap. Although effective for traditional boobytraps, the mechanical links which must be maintained between the DFD, the M7 blasting cap and the munition itself, reduces the flexibility of application of munitions so detonated. In particular, it is advantageous in some situations, to locate the munition(s) to be detonated in a position remote from the triggering event.
To this end, electric blasting caps such as the M6 have been developed. Such electric blasting caps are initiated or fired by an electric impulse of at least 1.5 amperes in contrast to the mechanical initiation of the M7 blasting cap described above. In practice, the electric impulse necessary to fire the M6 electric blasting cap has, however, been generated by means requiring direct human intervention and may require human monitoring of a triggering event. Typically, the M6 electric blasting cap is initiated by the use of a "blasting machine". These devices are electric generators operated by hand by twisting of a handle or by pushing on a plunger. Such methods of initiating an M6 electric blasting cap are incompatible with traditional boobytraps in which munitions are caused to detonate without direct human intervention and monitoring.